Portrait Project

Portrait Project

Seth Cohen

MBA 2008

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Before arriving at HBS, I was well-trained at crafting a resumé. One page of pretty font boasted fancy themes like "entrepreneurial passion" and "social impact." Major life events glowed in bold type. That Dean's award. My first job at Bank of America. And, of course, this graduate school.

I was convinced that my resumé represented the best of me: my greatest achievements, my pride and ambition.

Resumé-building is a skill shared among HBS students, and I have been inspired – and even intimidated – by their content. But their professional stories I learned early on have been eclipsed by ones of a more personal nature. Of immigrating alone to the U.S. as a teenager. Of being the first in the family to graduate high school. Of drawing strength from the death of a childhood friend. Of failure, and how it taught more than success. These stories, revealed through trust rather than resumés, have uplifted and inspired me more than 200 words can describe.

My resumé is important. But it is only a small piece of who I am and the values I uphold. I may enter a profession that prefers:

bullet points

credentials

But I hope to always remember that the greatest life moments and lessons will never be summarized on one page.

— Seth Cohen

The Portrait Project

Each year we ask our classmates a straightforward, simple question taken from the lines of a poem by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Mary Oliver.
We share with you intimate and candid responses to this question, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"